The Google Fitbit Air finally lifts the veil and heralds a new era of screen-free fitness tracking to take on Whoop and Garmin.

Google revealed the new Google Fitbit Air, and as expected, it’s a screenless fitness tracker similar to a Whoop band
Designed as a “set it and forget it” wearable, just like the original FitBit, it weighs just 12g with the fabric band.
The wearable arrives at the same time as a big overhaul of Fitbit, with the app renamed “Google Health”

After weeks of rumors and teases from Google (via NBA star Stephen Curry’s Instagram account), Google revealed the Google Fitbit Air, the next evolution of the best Fitbits, and it’s exactly what we expected: a low-budget, “set-it-and-forget-it” screenless fitness tracker to compete with the Whoop.

Priced at $99.99 / AU$199 (around £75), the tracker is incredibly lightweight at just 12g – without the wristband it weighs just 5g.

What is the Google Health app?

Screenshots of interaction with Google Health Coach

(Image credit: Google)

The Fitbit app and Fitbit Premium subscription service are being rebranded as the Google Health app in a mandatory rollout, which includes a radical redesign. This won’t be a popular move for longtime Fitbit users, but we knew it was coming since Google made having a Google account mandatory to continue using Fitbit devices.

In this context, the Google Health premium subscription is now based around the Google Health Coach, an AI health assistant based on Google Gemini. The Coach accesses all the data you allow it, from sleep and heart rate from a fitness tracker to nutritional logging by uploading photos of your meals. It can even take your medical file into account.

With this body of information, the Google Health Coach becomes a personal assistant of sorts, recommending workout plans, sleep optimization tips, recipes, injury tips, and more based on your goals and health.

The Google Fitbit Air was apparently “designed for Google Health Coach,” but unlike Whoop, you can use the fitness tracker with a free version of the app if you don’t want to subscribe. You just don’t get all the AI-based advice, just readings, scores, and graphs based on your data, like you do with most fitness trackers.

Google Fitbit Air: specifications

Drag to scroll horizontally

Device	Google Fitbit Air
Price	$99.99 / AU$199 (around £75)
Weight	12g with band
Case	Recycled plastic
Display	None
GPS	None
Battery	Up to 7 days, 90 minutes of charging (5 minutes of fast charging for 1 day of battery)
Connection	Bluetooth
Water resistant	50 meters

The bands come in several styles: a woven Performance Loop band designed for a “flexible fit” and made from recycled materials; an active silicon band; and the more elegant Elevated Modern Band. The special edition Google Fitbit Air comes with a Stephen Curry-branded band designed for “optimum performance and elevated style.”

Analysis: reduce the value of Whoop and return to the classic Fitbit

Whoop, Amazfit Helio bracelet, polar loop

(Image credit: Andrew Williams/Matt Evans)

When news of the upcoming Fitbit Air broke, I wrote that Fitbit’s new Whoop-style screenless tracker was a better fit for the brand than a smartwatch, as it was a throwback to 2008’s “nearly invisible” pedometer.

I stand by this assessment. Fitbit has always been the best as a discreet and reliable fitness tracker and pedometer, and despite the new app’s artificial intelligence and Google’s strong hints that you need the Health Coach subscription to get the most out of this band, that’s exactly where the Google Fitbit Air falls.

Other screen-free options, such as Whoop 5.0, the Polar Loop, and even smart rings like the Oura Ring 4, are more expensive, making the Google Fitbit Air a cheap option for “focus wearable” enthusiasts.

Google logo on black background next to text